a view from the sky

the original shoreline 1894 Lincoln Park ends at Diversey Parkway

(pdf p.18) opened a yacht harbor off the foot of Belmont
Avenue to be called Belmont Yacht Harbor

The
yacht harbor at Belmont Avenue was opened to the public in 1913. Moorings were
laid out, and a lighthouse constructed. A dock 911 feet long was also built."

image - University of Chicago Digital Library

Lincoln Park extends to Montrose beginning by 1923

The Build Out of the Shoreline

with special attention to Type C & D

images - City of Chicago: History of Shoreline edited

Read and view this Facebook album about the existing
shore as of 1894 by my sister sight LakeView Historical-Facebook

A Depiction of the build-out at Belmont Harbor

images from Ebay

The Harbor Opening in 1913

The Pedestrian Bridge in the Harbor

probably late 1910's - Chuckman Collection

a zoomed view of postcard above

There appears that the original lay-out of the harbor had a bridge to the northern end of it per the above postcard. I noticed this with another image shown below that was inserted in a 1925 advertisement.

These scanned black & white photos are from a
publication called 'Dearborn Magazine' published in 1922 of the scenes along the lakefront
from Diversey to Belmont Harbors.

During this time period Lincoln Park was land-filled no further north than Cornelia Avenue. The pages of this magazine were scanned by
Google making an impressionist view of each photo. I
edited the images with PicMonkey.

images - Jim Martin via Forgotten Chicago-Facebook

3314 Sheridan Road building in the background

In 1920Chicago Yacht Club and the Lincoln Park Yacht Club combined that included Diversey & Belmont Harbors to a united system. The next year a new clubhouse at Belmont Harbor replaces the lumber schooner Carrier, that had served as the Lincoln Park Yacht Club clubhouse since 1915. Almost every harbor has a club or boathouse to booked activities for the purpose of entertainment. Belmont Yacht Harbor was of no exception. The original boathouse like the one above was mobile and sailed from its perth into the lake - view above photo of craft. Sulzer Regional Library can not confirm nor deny that this is the original boathouse but only indicated that this is the type of craft that would have been used at the time.

The Club BoathouseThe Chicago Yacht Club has two location. The other is at Monroe Harbor

Belmont Harbor was open to the public in 1913 and part of the Lincoln Park Yacht Club. By 1920 the Monroe Yacht Club and Lincoln merged. According to the author Vincent V. Glaviano of the book called The First Hundred Years 1875-1975: Afloat at Belmont Harbor the merger blended the history and experience of Monroe yacht membership with the ever increase youthful membership of Lincoln Park. During the time of the merger Lincoln Park, the park was land-filled only to Cornelia Street. Both harbors would have their own boathouses including all the facilities that warrant one.

The first boathouse was actually a once proud fairing vessel called the Carrier I that was purchased in 1915 tow years after the public opening of the harbor. At the time of the purchase the 177 ton vessel was 50 years old.

There were plans by 1920 to move the boathouse on dry land - see image above. The Lincoln Park of Commissioners, an entity that governed the park and the roadways along the park vetoed the plan for a private building on public land.

The Fishfan inlet was also the location of Mayor Big Bill Thompson personal clubhouse - just sayin

The Carrier I got a full salute to its new location. It sank near Evanston Township.

The evolution of the new boathouse. The floating barge was completed in 1923 and dedicated on Thanksgiving Eve.

Captain MacMillan was one of the original members of the Lincoln Park Yacht Club and on that day messaged in from the Arctic Circle Expedition to his fiends in Chicago.

The book where these images are from is part of my personal collection

By 1966 the old floating barge needed to be modernized and was rededicated that year. The 'floating' canopy was gone

Construction was underway for another harbor north of Belmont Yacht Harbor at Montrose Avenue.

photo - Marty Swartz Living History of Illinois and Chicago

1928 photo - Calumet 412Dredging for a new harbor called Montrose and probably the same type of vessels to create Belmont

A Mayoral Resident

of Lake View & his Harbor

Mayor Big Bill Thompson had a yacht in Belmont Yacht Harbor and lived on the northwest corner of Belmont Avenue and Sheridan Road - currently inner LSD.

This three termed mayor and his wife lived at 3202 Sheridan Road at Belmont Avenue in the former elegant 32 apartment complex called Lochby Court Apartments. The mayor was known as 'turning a blind eye' on the activities of Al Capone. He a outspoken mayor who understood the politics of the city and his neighborhood.

campaign button unknown year - Ebay

According the publication Hidden History of Ravenswood & Lake View by Patrick Butler, during his tenure as mayor and before WWI would publicly refer the emperor of Germany as 'Kaiser Bill'. Big Bill " clashed with (then) Illinois governor Frank Lowden over a permit the mayor had issued for an anti-war rally" in his city. "Lowden had threatened to call out the National Guard to break up the protest, and Thompson vowed to use Chicago cops to resist if necessary." Military nor civil action was not ever taken.

Big Bill Thompson docked his schooner Valmore @ Belmont Yacht Harbor. The schooner was the first in its class to participated in theRace to Mackinac from the harbor in 1908.

1919 A reporter, a cop, and Big Bill's dog

In the background is Big Bill's apartment complex - just beyond the sailsphoto source unknown

The residence was located on the northwest corner of Sheridan Road (inner LSD) and Belmont Avenue. The three-story building had 32 apartments with butler's pantries and large living rooms with wood-burning fireplaces.

Big Bill Thompson in his living room parlorMayor Bill Thompson is credited in the creation of a 1915 commission that lead to the current Chicago flag.

Several views of the Lochby Court Apartments built in 1911. The building won a gold medal from the American Institute of Architects in 1912 as "best designed building of the year." and nothing was too good for Big Bill.

Big Bill's Speakeasy

The Fish Club speakeasy - photo 1925

This boathouse was the home of a club called 'The Fish' that featured a cabaret and had the support by the thenMayor Big Bill Thompson. The mayor had is racing craft docked in the harbor. This establishment was referred as a membership only speakeasy during the 'dry years' of Prohibition. According the publication Hidden History of Ravenswood & Lake View by Patrick Butler, Big Bill established the club in 1922 under using Illinois state law. The State was promoting the "propagation of fish in Illinois waterways to help feed poor children". Thompson and his friends had other ideas in mind. According the publication Hidden History of Ravenswood & Lake View by Patrick Butler, the club members some how failed to pay their bills and in 1928 during Prohibition creditors impounded the craft and "scuttled in the middle of Lake Michigan". During this time period there was a court battle pending about property offshore and the jurisdiction of city ordinances regarding gambling and drink on any offshore property even if it was connected by a bridge. The Fish Club was regarded offshore and a 'Streeterville-like' problem.

The Fish on auction block in 1928

Other Issues

Beach vs Traffic in 1929

Beach vs Traffic in 1934

Lake Michigan: Winds & Waves

unknown locations

above images are part of my personal collection

wind velocities image - Tales of the Chicago Mackinac Race

Buildings Along the Harbor

The Belmont Hotel along the harbor was completed by 1924

While this postcard has a date of 1940 most of the flats in this postcard were built during the 1920's with the Belmont Hotel in the distance to the left

This April storm and another October storm coupled with the Great Depression of October 1929 paused the expansion or extension of Lincoln Park northward until 1937 beyond Montrose Avenue. The city was granted federal monies to redevelop, extended the drive to Foster Avenue 1937- 1942.

The missile launch site was located at Belmont Harbor with radar control towers for it near Montrose Harbor. Another site was at Burnham Park with radar towers at 37th Street, and the third was at Jackson Park with its radar towers at Promontory Point. According to a Chicago Tribune article from Aug. 30, 1958, the Belmont location was the first local site to receive the Hercules missiles upgrades.

This 1963 Chicago Tribune article tells a tale about a twin engine plane landing off shore from the harbor and the pilot swimming to shore.

1965 Press Photo

Koda-Chrome Photo Collection by Scott August

"My grandfather had his boat at Belmont Harbor in the 50's
and 60's. The skyline has certainly changed over the years since then. Here's a
group of 35mm slides taken in 1960's from the back of 'The Rogal' at its' slip in the harbor."

Fifty Native American protesters fled the abandoned Nike - Hercules missile site near Belmont Harbor after a police intervention. The Lake View/Uptown area had a large Native American population. This military area at the harbor area was called the C-03 Launch Area located between Montrose and Belmont Harbors from October 1955 - June 1965.

The 1970's was the time of liberation groups who lacked voice in their own communities. These articles tell a tale of protest and recognition. The protest and occupation of the missile site began as a simple protest at Wrigley Field and then migrated to the harbor.View the video(begin at 7 minutes 30 seconds) on the movement that lead to the occupation of that military site.

The Seiche of Belmont Harbor

The most costly seiche occurred in 1954 with the most loss of life at North Avenue Beach when a 10 foot wave washed fisherman into the lake ... and then again in 1962.

There was this Beer Can in the 1970's

edited photo - Lance Grey

photo via Kevin Gumball O'Malley

Lance Grey, a contributor of LakeView Historical, mentioned “It was a
late arrival to to 'Rocks' mural craze of the early/mid '70's. "Old
Style" lasted well into the '80's.” And according to Wayne Folk, another contributor to my Facebook page, the Old Style Can was a place to hang-out and drink. “You would
drink a can of old style and talk about what's on the can. Then you would tell
people you see the hitchhiker? They would look at the can for a while. Then the
buzz. They would come back and say. "I don't see a hitchhiker on the can
at all." You would say to them. "He must had gotten picked up
already. Just drinking fun.” Maribel Selva, another contributor to LakeView Historical
mentioned the following “What always struck me was how detailed it was...just
like the can from back then. We would have a permanent “meet at the old style
can” day and time and when we showed up you never knew who would be there but
always friends showed up. We always biked there with our backpacks filled with
beer.”

There was a section of the 'rocks' - the shoreline made of limestone boulders that was to protect the storm episodes of the lake from the land - that were patronized by LBGTQ residents and friendly visitors of the area during the late 1970's until the anti-erosion project of the 2000's. The Belmont Harbor area of the rocks was a place to be safe from the anti-homophobia of that time. Patrons of the rocks would not only gather in a safe place to sunbath and express themselves freely but would create art on the limestone, now long removed but luckily the photo evidence remains to see.

Besides clicking on the title link I posted some of the views from those days of the 'hanging out' on the rocks from a Facebook page called

A small seiche (lake tidal wave) flooded the parking lot again leaving dead fish in the parking lot at Belmont Harbor 1973photo -Ebay

And again in 1975, a slick of 1000 gallons of oil meanders towards Belmont Harbor from a freighter. View the two images below.

Mail is Delivered to Belmont Harbor in 1975

Drugs at the Harbor Point in 1980

A second but private boathouse is discussed in 1981

Andrea Hollis stacks buoys retrieved from Belmont Harbor as crews clear them out for the winter. She was the only woman working with the Chicago Park District's Marine Department in November 1988. Photo by Carl Wagner (Vintage Tribune)My source: Xavier Quintana via HIstorical Chicago-Facebook

This 1989 Sun-Times article tells a tale of renewal for the harbor area of the neighborhood

The following are comments from social media site called Everyblockabout the unofficial yet professionally done firework display north of the harbor.

The threads ...

Comment 1- It was a group of renegade citizens concerned about the city failing 2 truly entertain us with their lame fireworks shows...these young robin hoods will keep bangin it out @ belmont every year 2 make sure everyone in the city gets a proper fireworks show 2 escape the dreary economic realities of city life.

Comment 2 - I want to be a renegade robin hood!! Let me know if there is a way to help out next year or if there are other fun projects planned at other times of the year.

Comment 3 - My friends plan on doing it every year for as long as possible...we keep it safe & super impressive since the city decided not 2 entertain us anymore...hopefully, other folks will get inspired 2 fight back & take everything into our own hands ... we'll just start building our own solar panels & wind mills block by block until we destroy the system.

In 2011 they opened an outdoor location just south of
Belmont Harbor in Chicago Park District's Lincoln Park. This school was an
instant hit, and we added an indoor location at the Chicago Park District's
Broadway Armory in spring 2012. This school continues to grow its community
under the leadership of General Manager Steve Hammes, who discovered that
teaching flying trapeze is just as much fun as performing juggling in the
circus.

photo - Lori K. Jones via Original Chicago-Facebook

TSNY Chicago hosts a number of summer camps for kids in collaboration
with the Chicago Park District. Bonnie Miller manages our retail office in
Chicago and is also our National Front Office Operations Manager. View some of the performance videos from their unofficial Facebook page!

The information and images are primarily based from the about book and part of my collection

The Attraction to the Island

It was the Victorians (aristocrats of the 1800’s) who
made Mackinac Island one of the nation's most favored summer
resorts. In the post-Civil War industrial age and before automobiles,
vacationers traveled by large lake excursion boats from Buffalo, Cleveland,
Chicago and Detroit to the cooler climes of Mackinac Island. They danced to
Strauss' waltzes, listened to Sousa's stirring marches, dined on whitefish and
strolled along the broad decks.

To accommodate overnight guests’ boat and railroad companies built summer hotels, such as the Grand Hotel in the late 19th century. Victorians, like travelers everywhere, shopped for souvenirs, and Mackinac shops supplied them.

In the 1890's wealthy Midwestern industrialists who wanted to spent more than a few nights on Mackinac built their own summer cottages on the east and west bluffs. Soon a social life [would include] tennis, hiking, bicycling, examining the local natural wonders, and at the turn of the century, golf at on the new Wawashkamo Golf Course.

The Race in Photos

image - Tales of the Chicago Mackinac Race

Starting in 1898 with a mere five boats, The Mac had evolved into a world-class sporting event. After the first race in 1898, the Race to Mackinac was not held for five years until the second race in 1904. By 1906, the race had developed a healthy following and in that year the original Mackinac trophy was purchased. - Wikipedia

In 1898 the first race had only five participants. One of the crafts was a schooner owned and operated by Ben and John McConnell who both owned homes on Hawthorne Place. Their mansions still exist today.

The Hawthornethe owners Ben and John McConnell lived on Hawthorne Place during this time. Their mansions remain as of 2016.image - Tales of Chicago Mackinac Race 1898-1998

The Hawthornephoto - Chicago History Museum

1905 First female skipper entered her schooner called the Lady Eileen.

1908The era of the large schooners begins when Bill Thompson of Chicago, later to be known as Mayor Big Bill Thompson enters his schooner, The Valmore. He would win in 1909 & 1910 as well.

image - Tales of Chicago Mackinac Race 1898-1998

image - Tales of Chicago Mackinac Race 1898-1998

1920Lincoln Park Yacht Club including Belmont Harbor Station joined Chicago Yacht Club. Also, that year Belmont Harbor Station is starting point in race.

1925One of the challenging races to date. Only 8 out of the 21 entries finished.

image - Tales of Chicago Mackinac Race 1898-1998

In 1936 thirteen sailing clubs participated that included

forty-three yachts while after the war in 1946 fifty-seven yachts participated the year.

This is a sample of the many articles on the race located in the Chicago Library online newspaper section. Just type the keywords Belmont Harbor and Mackinac for articles exclusively for our harbor and the race from it. The researcher will need a library card number and zip code to enter the database of articles.More Samplings of Various Articles about the Race

Read the more on the historical timeline of events of this race. To review the results of the last race and the winners of that last race with this link. View a 44 minute WTTW journey via YouTube. Also, view more current photography via Flickr.

Important Note:

These posts are exclusively used for educational purposes. I do not wish to gain monetary profit from this blog nor should anyone else without permission for the original source - thanks!

Narrative & Navigation

This has been a passion of mine for several years. This passion began with a simple inquiry of an ornate gate that surrounds a parking lot on my street. This singular inquiry lead me to learn everything I could online about the history of my neighborhood - Lake View, one of the 77 neighborhoods within the City of Chicago. Consider this topical blog as an online library of information for educators like myself who intend to teach others about this historical & robust corner of Chicago. I hope you enjoy the read and add any type of comments at the end of each post. I have a Facebook presence called 'LakeView Historical'.